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While I didn't start my own tomato patch till the late 50's; that's the 1950's, I did a lot in my step-dad's gardens earlier. Also helped in his sisters gardens around the corner. So probably started around 1953-54. We grew mostly large beefsteak shaped red tomatoes. As did almost all the neighbors.
I remember my dad (stepdad), saving seeds from the largest and best tasting tomatoes to be used for next years gardens. What I don't remember is anyone bagging blossoms. No one seemed the least bit concerned with cross pollination. I'm sure this was the attitude not only in our neighborhoods but throughout the country.
I'd be willing to bet that those along the Brandywine river in Pennsylvania, or over in Lancaster, Pa., or even Lancaster, Ohio for that matter weren't bagging blossoms either. Now, granted there weren't the varieties being grown back then like there are today, but still, I'm inclined to believe that there was quite a hodgepodge of crossed varieties.
Back in the days of early tomato growing, there were no hybrids, everything was heirlooms or open pollinated. It wasn't till after WW2 that hybrids came on the scene. People were leaving the family farms and moving into urban areas and seed companies prospered selling them seeds for small family plots instead of having them handed down from generation to generation as the had in the past. It was much easier to plunk down a few cents in the local hardware store and get seeds to plant your garden.
I don't recall seeing or hearing about people bagging blossoms until...the late 1990's maybe even the beginning of this century. I know I didn't nor did anyone I knew. Most people ordered seeds from Burpees and a few other companies back in the later part of the last century, as we didn't have all these seed companies and home business dealers that we have today.
Therefore we have Brandywine, Pink Brandywine, Brandywine Sudduths, Brandywine Glicks, Brandywine Stumps, Cowlick's Brandywine, (which I take responsibilty for creating and adding to the confusion), Yellow Brandywine, Red Brandywine, Black Brandywine, True Black Brandywine.
Then add in the different strains, Landis, Platfoot, crosses like Brandywine OTV, Dora, Liz Birt, Gary O'Sena, Bear Creek, and varients like the recently discovered Cowlick's Brandywine R.L. and add Ed's Millenium, JD's Special C-Tex, Earl's Faux, Stump of the world and who knows how many others and it's no wonder people get so confused when the word Brandywine surfaces.
Unless someone invents a time machine, I don't think we'll ever get the answers, but we can grow the different "Brandywines" and enjoy every bite or slice, however you prefer. I prefer mine with a little Zatarains Creole Seasoning.
Camo

Camo, I agree, and I cannot imagine a tomato variety being grown for 75 or 100 years even just down through one family without some genetic drift within the variety or pollen input from outside the variety. The stray pollen input would even be a larger issue with those large fruited varieties that show a strong tendency toward fasciated blossoms.

Is there any difference between Yellow Brandywine & Apricot? I received (Apricot) seeds from a fellow named Martin last year, & only one plant lived through the storms & I was only able to get one tomato off of it (that's when I learned about how NOT to grow tomatoes in pots!), but it was a beautiful bright orange (favorite color) , and THE best tasting tomato I believe I have ever tried! Growing a few more plants this year, am excited to see how they do, & taste!

Is there any difference between Yellow Brandywine & Apricot? I received (Apricot) seeds from a fellow named Martin last year, & only one plant lived through the storms & I was only able to get one tomato off of it (that's when I learned about how NOT to grow tomatoes in pots!), but it was a beautiful bright orange (favorite color) , and THE best tasting tomato I believe I have ever tried! Growing a few more plants this year, am excited to see how they do, & taste!

Apricot Brandywine was first listed by a British seed co quite a few years ago and those who have grown it out and compared it with Yellow Brandywine say they are the same. At least that's the feedback that I've seen.

So there's some thought that it never was an apricot color, whatever that really means, and was given that name to make it appear as being unique, etc. And I say whatever the color apricot means, b'c Yellow Brandywine isn't yellow either.

I know the Martin you refer to and in his SSE listing he refers to the color as gold/apricot.

As you can see there are no reported commercial sources and almost no listings for it in the SSE YEarbooks, There was a bit of a flap years ago when that British Co first listed it but that seems to have disappeared,

Tania says possibly a cross at her link above.

You might want to pur a couple of Apricot Brandywine plants and a couple of Yellow Brandywine plants in the same season to make the dirext comparison yourself.

Thanks for the info, Carolyn! Indeed in many of the images online of Yellow Brandywine, the toms are actually orange!! Was wondering if they (whoever) were trying to create a strictly orange one, different somehow from the "yellow" orange ones...? Now I'm realllly confusing myself, but looking forward to see how mine turn out! Anything orange is fine by me!!

I suspect that someone who grew Yellow Brandywine (which is a pale orange tomato) thought they had something different and it picked up the Apricot name (which is more descriptive of Yellow Brandywine's actual color than "Yellow"!).

Thanks for the info, Carolyn! Indeed in many of the images online of Yellow Brandywine, the toms are actually orange!! Was wondering if they (whoever) were trying to create a strictly orange one, different somehow from the "yellow" orange ones...? Now I'm realllly confusing myself, but looking forward to see how mine turn out! Anything orange is fine by me!!

I've always seen YB as being gold, not orange and not yellow, but not everyone perceives colors in the ame way, but if you look at a number of commercial seed sites I think you'll see that most describe YB as being gold in color, not metallic gold, but gold such as one sees with Aunt Gerties Gold, for instance.

I have read the origin story of both Limbaugh's Legacy Potato-top and for Marianna's Peace. It got me wondering if Brandywine Pink (Potato-Leaf) and these other two could be the same tomato. They all have origin stories that date way back there when there weren't quite as many varieties as there are now. I am sure they are different now but at one time they may have been the same. Anyone have any ideas on this?

I am growing all 3 this year to compare. My MPs did not seem as vigorous as the LLPT but the BP is a healthy little brute too. I may post pics when they get a little bigger just for comparison.

Here's the back cover of the 1890 Johnson & Stokes Garden & Farm Manual. Unfortunately, there's no foliage image to see if it's RL or PL.

We know the tomato originated from Ohio. Now, why would the seed owner only send the seeds to J&S in Philly when big seed houses like Livingston's and Henderson's were closer?

Another question: Is it possible the original Ohio seed owner sent it to various seedsmen in 1886/87/88 to grow out and a couple seedsmen like J&S and Henderson issued the tomato out under different names?